How 3D body scanning will help you find a suit that actually fits

There’s an old adage in the menswear world that says that a cheap, well-fitted suit will always look infinitely better than an expensive, poorly fitting one.

But while the casts of shows like Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother seem to effortlessly pull off the well-dressed look, doing so for most guys tends to be too expensive, too intimidating, or too time-consuming.

Carlos Solorio, the co-founder of Tailor Truck parent company Arden Reed, says this is a use case that 3D scanning was made for.

“3D scanning gives us accurate measurements to the scale of millimeters. Before that it was inches, which doesn’t make sense for measuring clothing fit,” he told me.

The 3D body scanner Tailor Truck will use is powered by 14 sensors at multiple heights and angles, allowing it to measure over a million points of information.

The technology, of course, is nothing new, but plunging prices means that 3D scanning is finally getting to the point where it’s affordable for small businesses and, in some cases, individuals. (We’re seeing the same trend with 3D printing.)

Solorio wants to use the project’s eventual Kickstarter funds both to finish building the truck and to take it on a cross-country tour of cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. If Solorio is right, those cities may see a major influx of well-dressed gentlemen very soon.